Bible Encyclopedias
Labor

　　la´bẽr ( יגיע , yeghı̄a‛ , עמל , ‛amāl ; κόπος , kópos ): The word (noun and verb) denoting hard work or "toil" (thus in the Revised Version (British and American) of Deuteronomy 26:7; Joshua 7:3; Revelation 2:2 ) represents several Hebrew and Greek words, chiefly those above. Occasionally, as in Habakkuk 3:17 ( ma‛ăsēh ), it stands for "fruit of labor." Sometimes, in conjunction with "travail," it refers to childbirth (Genesis 35:16 , Genesis 35:17 , yāladh ; compare 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8 ). Examples of the word in the ordinary sense are: of yeghı̄a‛ , Genesis 31:42; Job 39:11 , Job 39:16; Psalm 128:2; of ‛amāl , common in Ecclesiastes 1:3 , Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 2:10 , Ecclesiastes 2:11 , Ecclesiastes 2:18 , etc.; of kopos , 1 Corinthians 15:58 ("your labor is not vain," etc.); 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ("work of faith and labor of love"; compare Hebrews 6:10 ); 1 Timothy 5:17 ("labor in the word and in teaching"). See WORK; SLAVERY .